SAN ANTONIO -- The University of the Incarnate Word men's basketball team takes a one-game road trip on Sunday to play the University of Southern Illinois Edwardsville. UIW has a 4-4 record after falling to Northern Colorado on Wednesday night. The SIUE Cougars are 0-3 on the young season after losing by five points in overtime to Valparaiso Wednesday. SIUE competes in the Ohio Valley Conference.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
WATCH (ESPN+)
LISTEN
LIVE STATS
 
SERIES
UIW leads the series, 1-0. The Cardinals won, 73-72, in San Antonio on Dec. 15, 2001.
 
TWO BIG POSITIVES FROM THE UNC GAME
The resurgence of several veteran players – combined with an early-second half comeback – provides encouragement. Christian Peevy, a 6-6 forward from Chicago, scored 26 points while playing slightly over 24 minutes. His veteran teammate, Augustine Ene, scored 16. Neither wasted many shots. Peevy hit nine of 12 shots; Ene hit seven of 11. Peevy is now the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 10.4 points per game.
 
Of course, when one uses the term "veteran" around this youthful UIW squad, it's important to regard that word as a relative term. Peevy and Ene are sophomores, two of only six returning players from last year's Cardinals squad. UIW has eight freshman and one junior college transfer on this year's team.
 
After UIW fell behind by as many as 22 points in the first half Wednesday night, it staged an 11-0 run to close within six points of the Bears. That was one of three double-digit comeback runs that UIW has displayed during this young season.
 
"MO BUCKETS" WINS SLC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
With only three weeks of college basketball under his belt, Cardinals Freshman Morgan Taylor won Southland Conference Player of the Week honors on Monday. Taylor, a 6-3 guard from Chicago, was the hero of the Nov. 17 overtime win over North Dakota State, in which the Cardinals prevailed, 80-78. Taylor made the winning layup with 26 seconds remaining in overtime and hauled in the subsequent defensive rebound that assured victory. In addition to scoring the game winner, Taylor hit a three-pointer with six seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime, after having made two key free throws at the 1:24 mark to keep UIW in contention.
 
One day later against Florida Atlantic, Taylor hit three consecutive free throws in the waning seconds of the first half, then stole the ball and beat the buzzer and turn a four-point deficit into a one-point halftime lead. Taylor has started all eight games for UIW this year.                                                            
 
Taylor leads the team with a 14.9 points-per-game scoring average and has dished out 25 assists. He had a career high of 24 points in the NDSU game, breaking his personal best of 23 against Texas Lutheran on Nov. 12. Taylor shot 50 percent against North Dakota State. In all, he has scored in double-digits six times and shot above 40 percent four times.
 
ILLINOIS ROOTS
In addition to the aforementioned players from the Chicagoland region, Peevy (Mount Carmel) and Taylor (Marist), head coach Carson Cunningham has educational and neighborly relationships with the state. Dr. Cunningham earned his Master of Business Administration from DePaul University in 2013, while concurrently teaching in the university's history and cinema/digital media departments. He grew up in the Chicago suburb of Merriville, Indiana and later coached high school basketball there.
 
ILLINOIS OPPONENTS
SIUE will be the Cardinals' second of four opponents from the Land of Lincoln. UIW opened its home season on Nov. 9 with a 63-49 win over St. Francis of Joliet, a member of the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Cardinals will visit the University of Illinois at Chicago, a member of the Horizon League, on Dec. 17. Then, on Dec. 19, UIW plays Big East member DePaul.
 
BAHAMAS TOURNAMENT
UIW played  competitively in the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase in Nassau last week. The Cardinals had a four-point lead with six minutes left in the first half against Montana, and then cut an eight-point Grizzly halftime lead to four early in the second half. Taylor's heroics helped win the NDSU game. Against Florida Atlantic, UIW had the ball with a one-point deficit within the last minute, and again with ten seconds left while down by three.
 
SMITH SHOWS PROMISE
Antoine Smith Jr., a 6-7 freshman forward from Westerville, Ohio, leads the team with 37 rebounds and with 92.3 percent free throw accuracy. Uncannily accurate for a big man, he has hit 44 percent of his three-point attempts and 52 percent of all shots. He averages 8.3 points per game, third on the team.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
UIW's roster is made up of one senior, two juniors, four sophomores and eight freshmen. So far, coach Cunningham has experimented with various starting lineups. During the three-game homestand, four freshmen and one sophomore started. In the Bahamas, senior Charles Brown III and junior Jorden Kite took the floor at the opening tip. Taylor and sophomore Cody Graham have been the constants; each have started all eight games.
 
Against Texas Lutheran, freshmen scored 51 of 70 points.
 
SOLID FREE THROW SHOOTING
As a team, the Cardinals are hitting more than 80 percent from the charity stripe, as are Smith, Peevy, Brown, Graham, Ene and Jordan Caruso.
 
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
Thirteen of UIW's opponents played in post-season competition last year. Texas Tech, Montana, and Stephen F. Austin played in the NCAA Tournament. Central Arkansas, New Orleans, and Miami (Ohio) played in the College Basketball Invitational. Tonight's opponent, Northern Colorado, joined Illinois-Chicago, Sam Houston, Abilene Christian and Lamar by receiving invitations to the College Insider.com Tournament. When repeat games against conference opponents are counted, some 17 of 31 games will pit the Cardinals against opponents with tournament experience.